Hor. My liege, I did deny no prifoners.
But, I remember, when the fight was done,
When I was dry with rage, and extreme toil,
Breathless and faint, leaning upon my fword,
Came there a certain lord, neat, and trimly drefs'd,
Fresh as a bridegroom; and his chin, new reap'd,
Show'd like a ftubble-land at harvest-home: "
He was perfumed like a milliner;

And 'twixt his finger and his thumb he held
A pouncet-box, which ever and anon
He gave his nofe, and took't away again;-
Who, therewith angry, when it next came there,
Took it in fnuff:—and still he fmil'd, and talk'd;

-at harveft-home:] That is, a time of feftivity.

JOHNSON.

If we understand harvest-home in the general fenfe of a time of feftivity, we fhall lose the most pointed circumftance of the comparifon. A chin new fhaven is compared to a ftubble-land at barveft-home, not on account of the feftivity of that season, as I apprehend, but because at that time, when the corn has been but juft carried in, the ftubble appears more even and upright, than at any other. TYRWHITT.

A pouncet box,] A fmall box for mufk or other perfumes then in fashion: the lid of which, being cut with open work, gave it its name; from poinfoner, to prick, pierce, or engrave.

WARBURTON.

Dr. Warburton's explanation is juft. At the chriftening of Queen Elizabeth, the Marchionefs of Dorfet gave, according to Holinfhed, "three gilt bowls pounced, with a cover."

So alfo, in Gawin Douglas's Translation of the ninth Æneid: wroght richt curioufly

66

"With figuris grave, and punfit ymagery." STEEVENS. Took it in fnuff:] Snuff is equivocally used for anger, and a powder taken up the nose.

So, in The Fleire, a comedy by E. Sharpham, 1610: "Nay be not angry; I do not touch thy nofe, to the end it should take any thing in fuuff."

Again, in Decker's Satiromaftix, 1602:

'tis enough,

Having fo much fool, to take him in snuff;"

And, as the foldiers bore dead bodies by,
He call'd them-untaught knaves, unmannerly,
To bring a flovenly unhandsome corfe
Betwixt the wind and his nobility.

With many holiday and lady terms *

8

He queftion'd me; among the rest, demanded
My prifoners, in your majesty's behalf.

I then, all fmarting, with my wounds being cold,
To be fo pefter'd with a popinjay,'

and here they are talking about tobacco. Again, in Hinde's Eliofto Libidinofo, 1606: "The good wife glad that he took the matter fo in fnuff," &c. STEEVENS.

See Vol. V. p. 157, n. 6. MALONE.

8 With many holiday and lady terms-] So, in A Looking Glafs for London and England, 1598: "Thefe be but holiday terms, but if you heard her working day words." Again, in The Merry Wives of Windfor: -he speaks holiday." STEEVENS.

66

9 I then, all smarting, with my wounds being cold,

To be fo pefter'd with a popinjay,] But in the beginning of the fpeech he reprefents himself at this time not as cold but hot, and inflamed with rage and labour:

"When I was dry with rage, and extreme toil," &c.

I am therefore perfuaded that Shakspeare wrote and pointed it thus: I then all fmarting with my wounds; being gall'd

To be fo pefter'd with a popinjay, &c. WARBURTON. Whatever Percy might fay of his rage and toil, which is merely declamatory and apologetical, his wounds would at this time be certainly cold, and when they were cold would smart, and not before. If any alteration were neceffary, I fhould tranfpofe the lines: I then all fmarting with my wounds being cold,

Out of my grief, and my impatience,

To be fo pefter'd with a popinjay,
Anfwer'd neglectingly.

A popinjay is a parrot. JOHNSON.

The fame tranfpofition had been propofed by Mr. Edwards. In John Alday's Summarie of fecret Wonders, &c. bl. 1. no date, we are told that "The Popingay can speake humaine speach, they come from the Indias" &c.

From the following paffage in The Northern Lafs, 1632, it should feem, however, that a popinjay and a parrot were distinct birds: "Is this a parrot or a popinjay?"

Out of my grief and my impatience,

Answer'd neglectingly, I know not what;

He should, or he fhould not;-for he made me
mad,

To fee him shine so brisk, and smell so sweet,
And talk fo like a waiting-gentlewoman,

Of guns, and drums, and wounds, (God fave the

mark!)

And telling me, the fovereign'ft thing on earth
× Was £permaceti, for an inward bruise;'
And that it was great pity, fo it was,
That villainous falt-petre fhould be digg'd
Out of the bowels of the harmless earth,
Which many a good tall fellow had destroy'd
So cowardly; and, but for these vile guns,+

Again, in Nafh's Lenten Stuff, &c. 1599: "the parrot,
the popinjay, Philip-fparrow, and the cuckow." In the ancient
poem called The Parliament of Birds, bl. 1. this bird is called "the
popynge jay of paradyfe." STEEVENS.

It appears from Minfheu that Dr. Johnfon is right. See his
Dict. 1617, in v. Parret. MALONE.

The old reading may be fupported by the following paffage in
Barnes's Hiftory of Edward III. p. 786: "The efquire fought still,
until the wounds began with lofs of blood to cool and smart."

TOLLET.

So, in Mortimeriados, by Michael Drayton, 4to. 1596:
"As when the blood is cold, we feel the wound -."
MALONE,

2 —grief-] i. e. pain. In our ancient tranflations of phy-
fical treatifes, dolor ventris is commonly called belly-grief.

3

STEEVENS.

parl

permaceti, for an in-ward bruife;] So, in Sir T. Over par
bury's Characters, 1616: [An Ordinary Fencer.] "His wounds
are feldom fkin-deepe; for an inward bruise lambstones and sweete-
breads are his only Spermaceti." BOWLE.

-but for thefe vile guns, &c.] A fimilar thought occurs in
Queftions of profitable and pleafant Concernings, &c. 1594, p. 11:
I confeffe thofe gunnes are diuellifh things, and make many
men runne away that other wayes would not turne their heads."
STEEVENS.

Some modern editors. in his

X parmaceli ) So the old editions have altered it to spumaceli. Sir Richard Hawkins The South Sea 1593 speaking of whates says 'his Voyage spawne is for dwers purposes. This we corruptly call parmacistic of the latin word Sperma (ei pub

Reed

He would himself have been a foldier.
This bald unjointed chat of his, my lord,
I answer'd indirectly, as I faid;

And, I beseech you, let not his report

Come current for an accufation,

Betwixt my love and your high majesty.

BLUNT. The circumftance confider'd, good my lord,

Whatever Harry Percy then had said,
To fuch a perfon, and in fuch a place,
At fuch a time, with all the rest retold,
May reasonably die, and never rife
To do him wrong, or any way impeach
What then he faid, fo he unfay it now."

K. HEN. Why, yet he doth deny his prisoners; But with provifo, and exception,

That we, at our own charge, fhall ransom straight His brother-in-law, the foolish Mortimer;'

4 To do him wrong, or any way impeach What then he faid, fo he unfay it now. Let what he then said never rife to impeach him, fo he unfay it now. JOHNSON.

5 His brother-in-law, the foolish Mortimer;] Shakspeare has fallen into fome contradictions with regard to this Lord Mortimer. Before he makes his perfonal appearance in the play, he is repeatedly fpoken of as Hotspur's brother-in-law. In Act II. Lady Percy exprefsly calls him her brother Mortimer. And yet when he enters in the third act, he calls Lady Percy his aunt, which in fact the was, and not his fifter. This inconfiftence may be accounted for as follows. It appears both from Dugdale's and Sandford's account of the Mortimer family, that there were two of them taken prifoners at different times by Glendower, each of them bearing the name of Edmund; one being Edmund Earl of March, nephew to Lady Percy, and the proper Mortimer of this play; the other, Sir Edmund Mortimer, uncle to the former, and brother to Lady Percy. Shakspeare confounds the two perfons. STEEVENS.

Another cause alfo may be affigned for this confufion. Henry Percy, according to the accounts of our old hiftorians, married Eleanor, the fifter of Roger Earl of March, who was the father of the Edmund Earl of March that appears in the prefent play. But

Who, on my foul, hath wilfully betray'd
The lives of those, that he did lead to fight
Against the great magician, damn'd Glendower;
Whofe daughter, as we hear, the earl of March
Hath lately married. Shall our coffers then
Be emptied, to redeem a traitor home?
Shall we buy treafon? and indent with fears,"

this Edmund had a fifter likewife named Eleanor. Shakspeare might therefore have at different times confounded these two Eleanors. In fact, however, the fifter of Roger Earl of March, whom young Percy married, was called Elizabeth. MALONE. See my note on Act II. fc. iii. where this Lady is called-Kate. STEEVENS.

and indent with fears,] The reason why he fays, bargain and article with fears, meaning with Mortimer, is, because he fuppofed Mortimer had wilfully betrayed his own forces to Glendower out of fear, as appears from his next fpeech. WARBURTON. The difficulty feems to me to arife from this, that the king is not defired to article or contract with Mortimer, but with another for Mortimer. Perhaps we may read:

Shall we buy treason? and indent with peers,
When they have loft and forfeited themselves?

Shall we purchafe back a traitor? Shall we defcend to a compofition with Worcester, Northumberland, and young Percy, who by difobedience have loft and forfeited their honours and themselves?

JOHNSON.

Shall we buy treafon? and indent with fears,] This verb is used by Harrington in his tranflation of Ariofto. Book XVI. ft. 35: "And with the Irish bands he first indents,

"To fpoil their lodgings and to burn their tents." Again, in The Cruel Brother, by Sir W. D'Avenant, 1630: Doft thou indent

"With my acceptance, make choice of fervices?" Fears may be used in the active fenfe for terrors. So, in the fecond part of this play:

all thofe bold fears

"Thou feeft with peril I have answered."

Thefe lords, however, had, as yet, neither forfeited or loft any thing, so that Dr. Johnson's conjecture is inadmiffible.

After all, I am inclined to regard Mortimer (though the King affects to speak of him in the plural number) as the Fear, or timid object, which had left or forfeited itself. Henry afterwards fays: he durft as well have met the devil alone, "As Owen Glendower for an enemy."